Drink and drugs.

Due to the storyline for our trailer being based a lot on drug use and alcohol consumption it is important we do research as to what the facts are in relation to our target audience.

An article produced by the BBC 14^th December 2004 stated that  a survey of 15 and 16 year-olds found 26% of boys and 29% of girls in the UK had indulged in binge drinking at least three times in the previous month.

With relation to drug use it stated 42% of boys and 35% of girls admitted they had tried illegal drugs at least once.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4094183.stm

Obviously we have taken into account when this article was written (6 years ago) but drug and alcohol consumption by teenagers has continued to grow, therefore this indicates to us that this is a highly significant topic. Including this topic within our soap opera will mean that young people have a better understanding of drugs and alcohol, and encourage them to not use them.

Change of plan..

After reviewing the written storyboard, the group and I decided the story lines would not be interesting enough for our target audience. Our target audience probably wouldn't be interested in a young girl going missing and running away to the woods. Therefore, we have changed the story line slightly with more teenage antics involved, for example; drugs, drink and violence. I have written a new story board:

• Begins with a close up of a computer screen of a status being written on Facebook. Teenage girl (about 18) typing it is reading it out as she writes it - can only hear her not see her at this point - angry tone, talking as if she has gritted teeth and hitting the keys on the key board with some force. 

• Jump cut shot of the proposal - girls father down on one knee. The girls voice reading the status over the proposal. 

• Camera jumps back to close up of the computer screen. As she 'Posts' the status the camera jumps to her face - she squints her eyes as if she is thinking then breaths in deeply with anger.
• Shot of boy walking into the village (about 19/20) - new boy in town, has a map, is good looking. He stops to look around, smiles and nods to himself. 
• Back to the teenage girl standing infront of the window - beginning to get dark outside, she is putting her coat on and gets a bottle of wine out of the cupboard.
• She then gets some drugs out of a pocket of a pocket of a jumper in her cupboard, close of up drugs, then a close up of her face as she thinks about it. Then close up of her shoving them in her coat pocket.
• Shot of her Father and Step-mother-to-be cuddled up on the sofa.
• Teenage girl quietly shuts the front door behind her. 
• Jump cut to a man and woman (about mid 20s) looking at a pregnancy test with happy faces. 

• Teenage girl swaying down the road drinking out of the bottle, camera pans as she walks past the new boy looking at his map. 
• Camera whoosh to her sitting at the train station on the floor drinking out of the bottle, drunk, talking to herself about how much she dislikes her Fathers Fiancé. 

• Teenage girl's phone bleeps, close up of her pocket as she tries to get her phone out.
• Close up of phone screen - 'You're going to be an Auntie!!!'
• Close up of girl's face as she shakes her head and has another drink. 
• Long shot of her as people walk past and blur the screen. 
• close up of her putting her phone back in her pocket and looking at the drugs. 
• The new boy speaks, 'Alright luv?' and she quickly puts the drugs back in her pocket and the camera pans up to the boys face. 

• Girl gets up and tells him to leave him alone and starts shouting, he tries to calm her down, she goes to push him and as he goes to defend himself she falls over and hits her head.
• Ends with a close up of his face of fear as he has pushed her over, then a close up of her face, unconscious.  

Written story board..

As a group, having analysed the questionnaire results and collating the ideas of what our target audience are looking for in a soap opera, we discussed the story lines. We eventually came up with a written storyboard and decided that between each clip we are going to have text (one powerful word) to create more of a tense atmosphere.

Reader and Viewer Profile

We created a reader profile for our target audience who would be reading the TV listings magazine. It is usual for the older generation to read TV listings magazines; for example, mothers who work part time, which made it easier to decide our target audience. We have also created a viewer profile which is for those in which we aim to target that will watch the soap opera. We aimed this at younger adults as we believed, because we are of the same age, that our opinion and what we look for in soaps would help us out in what we are creating. This way, we can use our own expectations as well as our audience's.

Print Production Questionnaire

We created a print production questionnaire for our target audience to ascertain information of what they would like in order for us to create the perfect TV listings magazine front cover and poster!

After distributing the questionnaires I have analysed the results and here are the findings:

• The majority of our target audience don't purchase TV listings magazines, and wouldn't buy one if there was one to be produced at their age group. This therefore indicates to our previous research from the National Readership Survey was correct and this means we will be producing a TV listings magazine that is aimed for an older target audience.
• The most popular TV listings magazine design was one that featured gender neutral colours. The comments as to why they choose that cover were, "Less busy, good layout, one main story'.
• The majority of people wanted to characters to appear on the front cover, and it was the characters who attracted people to the front cover of a TV listings magazine.
• The majority didn't want the poster and the TV listings magazine to be related.
• The most popular soap opera poster was one which featured the male cast from Hollyoaks which was edited with layers to add depth.
• The target audience want the image of the poster to be shot in the location of filming.
• The thing that most interested people about a poster was; the main focal point and the text on the poster.

• The majority of people choose for the poster to not feature any characters but to feature another aspect of the soap.